49th Translation Awards Fiction Grand Prize winner Kim Seol-kyung

Kim Seol-kyung is a translator who graduated from Ewha Womans University Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation (GSTI) with a master's degree in English-Korean translation in 2015.

She was first introduced to literary translation while at Ewha GSTI, where courses were stimulating and intriguing, and the translation of both fiction and poetry, especially from Korean to English, was intrinsically motivating for her.

"I had to give it a go eventually, and the Korea Times Translation Awards seemed like a great opportunity."

She translated novelist Kim Ae-ran's "A Covering Hand" for the 49th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards.

"I was amused by the touch of irony weaved throughout the story including the subtle twist at the end which leaves speculations about the credibility of a young character and which is also implied in the story's title, 'A Covering Hand.' The writer's calm, descriptive style of writing was also an aspect I personally looked forward to in translating the work," she said.

For Kim, translating an entire work requires a certain rigor and commitment and maintaining momentum was a considerable part of the effort. Other than that, the translation process itself was an enjoyable and gratifying experience for her.

Kim believes that a good translation is a faithful representation of the original work and a seamless read in the target language.

"As a translator, I sometimes think what I do is similar to an actress who plays her role, except in the linguistic sense. The more my performance is in tune with the text, the more my effort is unnoticeable, the more my personality remains undetected in the end product, and the writer's is left intact, the more likely the gig will have been a good one."